BGE has been slow to trim trees in good weather

It's easy for me to give BGE the benefit of the doubt as they work to restore electricity to 230,000 Baltimore area residents still without power — unlike most of my neighbors, I never lost electricity during the storm ("Feeling powerless," Aug. 30). However, based on our experience attempting to discuss tree pruning with BGE over the past several years, I think BGE avoids doing preventive work that could reduce the number of people who lose power in storms.

Our neighborhood has overhead power lines running down the back property line, and there are many old oak trees with large limbs lying on or just above the BGE wires. Some of these trees are in poor shape and are highly likely to come down on power lines in a storm like Irene. Year after year, we call to discuss these trees with BGE, and year after year they come and look and do nothing. One BGE tree contractor even told me, off the record, that it's easier for them to wait for these trees and branches to come down than to bring equipment in to do pruning. If they would invest a little in tree maintenance over wires during the good weather, I have no doubt they would look better in the eyes of their customers during a crisis like this one.

I was one of many at the Public Service Commission's hearing Tuesday night who had a story to share about BGE's poor performance after Hurricane Irene. The meeting did not start out well, as the 100 plus group of people who showed up were locked out of the building due to the failure of the PSC...

After leaving Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers without power for up to eight days and with a poorly functioning customer service line in the wake of Hurricane Irene, it's appalling that Constellation Energy Group would have the nerve to turn around and ask us to foot the bill for...

In his letter ridiculing the "Bible thumpers" who believe hurricanes and other natural disasters are punishments from God, Luther Starnes appears to promote a common but dangerous misconception when he writes that "attributing destruction and vengeance to an all-loving God could border on...

I live in the Phoenix area of Baltimore County and we didn't get power back in our homes until Sept. 2. I understand that power has to be restored to hospitals, nursing homes, emergency treatment centers and other places of critical importance. But BGE should have given more priority to the...